City Life
by flipomatic
Summary: My family had always served the kingdom of Prospit. We served as knights, advisors, guards, and many other roles. If there was a position in the castle, it could be certain that a Serket had filled in the past. When I was born, a role was assigned to me. I would be an advisor. Slight Meenah/Aranea, but not really. Prospitian Times part 2
1. Training

Author Note: So this here is Prospitian Times part 2, and it can be read without reading part one, but it will make more sense if you do. It can be found in the Prospitian Times community, which can be found with all the other Homestuck communities.

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My family had always served the kingdom of Prospit. We served as knights, advisors, guards, and many other roles. If there was a position in the castle, it could be certain that a Serket had filled in the past. When I was born, a role was assigned to me. I would be an advisor.

The job suited me; I couldn't heft a sword to save my life and I had an uncommonly good memory.

So at seven years old, my parents dropped me off at the castle, and I didn't see them again until my late teens. Even when I did see them, I remained distant.

I attended class with about 100 other kids, and they started teaching us everything we would need to know to survive at court. As we learned etiquette, I got to know my classmates.

Most of them despised me, I wasn't really sure why, but there were a few I got along with. My roommate was Latula Pyrope, rad girl extraordinaire. She was determined to be a knight, even though female knights were few and far between. She always talked about how some day, she would go out exploring and win glory. She was one of the few willing to listen to me talk, and I talked all the time. One of my favorite things to do was tell stories.

My only other friend was Meenah Peixes, heir to the throne. It's kind of a long tale.

One day in the first year, after lecture got out, I was packing up my bags when a few intimidating shadows surrounded my desk. Occasionally the other girls liked to tease me, especially when Latula was in another class. I scooped up my bag, standing to face the others.

Three of them stood together by my desk, their arms crossed aggressively with vivid smirks decorating their visages. They were all at least six centimeters taller than me.

"You should drop out while you still have the chance." Their leader spat at me. I didn't even know her name; it was a different girl every week. "If you wait too long you won't be able to find a husband." She giggled, "Oh wait, it doesn't matter. Even if you quit now it's too late." The other two burst out laughing. I glared up at the leader, both fists clenched at my sides. If I thought I could beat her in a fight, I would've thrown a punch.

"Well that's rude!" someone shouted from across the classroom. It was practically empty by then; I thought we were the last ones left. A small figure leapt over a few desks to plant herself between the others and me, her hands firmly on her hips. Their eyes widened as they backed up a few steps. I couldn't tell who it was from behind, but I was extremely grateful for their help.

"P-princess Peixes" The leader stuttered. "W-we are sorry if we offended you." They scurried towards the door, exiting with haste. Watching them go was almost surreal; they never backed off that easily.

"Cowards." The girl in front of me scoffed, spitting on the ground where they once stood. Then she turned to face me, and I almost forgot to breath. Maybe I just didn't pay enough attention, but I didn't realize the princess was in my class.

She was only a couple centimeters taller than me, but the way she held herself made it feel like more than a meter. She smiled at me, putting one hand out to shake. "The names Meenah. Nice to meet you."

It took me a moment to find my voice. "I-I'm Aranea." I grasped her hand and kissed it gingerly; the way we were taught to when greeting royalty. Apparently, this was the wrong thing to do.

She yanked it out of my grasp, grimacing. "Don't do that." She shook her head, her short pigtail braids swaying back and forth. "You shake." She put her hand out again, and I shook it once, barely touching it at all. "Close enough."

"Thank you for your assistance." I bowed forward slightly after releasing her hand.

"Don't do that either!" Meenah exclaimed, crossing her arms. I blinked a few times in astonishment. "Damn it, and 'ere I thought you'd be different." I didn't mean to upset her so much.

"I'm sorry." I apologized, unsure of what else to do.

"You don't 'ave to be so formal." Meenah clapped one hand onto my back, guiding me out of the classroom. "We're friends now, after all." I didn't protest; having two friends was like hitting the jackpot.

And from that point on, we were friends. I even met her younger sister a few times, the second princess Feferi. Between Latula and Meenah I had all the friends a girl could want, at least for a few years anyway.

When we hit ten years old, we split into specialties. Latula joined the young boys in knight training while I started taking lessons on everything from court manners to the history of every town in Prospit. Meenah was in a few of these classes, but not many. We still spent some time together, but it was few and far between. In the last few years, I didn't see her at all. Latula and I still saw each other occasionally, but it wasn't the same as living together.

I did make one new friend in the advisor program, but she was many years younger than me. Little Terezi Pyrope thirsted for knowledge. But she was completely blind, and her smile was just a little bit too wide, so many of the others avoided her. I started helping her get around the castle, and would tell her stories in my free time. She learned faster than I did, and would make a fantastic advisor someday. The kid was endearing in a kind of pointy way, and she helped make the last couple years of my education tolerable.

At 16 years old, I graduated from the program. The girls who tormented me long ago had since fled from court after failing their courses. My younger cousin Vriska had since joined up, but she wanted to be a knight so I almost never saw her. She was the only member of my family who I spoke to at all.

I was two years younger than the average graduate, having skipped two years of lessons, so I became the youngest advisor in court. There were twenty of us in all, with the eldest being well into his seventies. 18 of them were male. I tried to befriend the only other female in the group, but she often feigned deafness when I spoke. I made a habit of talking to her every time I saw her.

Latula became a knight around the same time, starting to go on missions and find that glory she always wanted. When she was in town, we would catch up and chat about the old days. Latula also spent some time with Vriska, and the pair of them got along well.

Since I was the same age as the princess, I was assigned to be her personal advisor. That also might have been the other advisor's way of shoving me to the side, but I didn't have any proof. I didn't mind the assignment; it was the perfect opportunity to spend time with Meenah again.

But I worried that things had changed. Now that we were no longer children, would it still be acceptable for her to be my friend? Even if it wasn't, she didn't seem to care.

When I entered her quarters for the first time in what felt like forever, she engulfed me in a heartwarming hug. Not much had changed; she now carried a full size trident, and we had specific roles to play in public, but at the core we were the same people as we were before.

I spent my days advising her on how to behave in public, how to deal with foreign ministers, and which boys were the cutest. Two years passed that way in quick fashion.

As the time passed, I made sure to keep an eye on my fellow advisors. They all advised the king, so I didn't see much of them, but one of them caught my eye.

Sir Scratch was a knight before he became an advisor, and he was the strongest fighter among the advisors. He also was the king's right hand man, trusted to run the country from behind the scenes. He never caused me any trouble, but I always felt uneasy around him since sometimes he seemed to be watching me.

Old Dualscar also seemed suspicious, but he was so far past his prime I never worried about him. He was the Queen's primary advisor; they had been working together for decades.

Meenah wasn't worried about the other advisors, so I tried not to worry about them as well. But one night, my fears were realized.

It was a week after the king passed away; he died in his sleep of an unknown illness. The Queen took control of the kingdom, picking up Sir Scratch as her secondary advisor.

I was in my quarters, reading court precedence's by candle light, when someone knocked loudly on my door. The noise startled me, nearly making me lose my place in the document. I wasn't expecting any visitors since the sun set a few hours ago.

But I couldn't just ignore it; it could be someone important. I bookmarked my text and put it on the desk. I picked up my candle and took it with me to open the door.

The door didn't squeak as I pulled it open, since I oiled the hinges often. The light from my candle barely illuminated the face of Latula as she stood bleeding in the doorway. She clutched her right arm with her left hand, desperately trying to keep the blood in. She had a horizontal scratch on the side of her pale face, and she leaned against the doorframe as if staying on her feet was a chore.

"Oh my," I clasped both hands over my mouth. "Come in." I moved to let her pass, and she staggered over to sit on my bed as I closed the door. I had some spare bandages in my desk, and I quickly retrieved them in order to wrap her wounded arm. "What happened?" I asked as I rolled up her sleeve. I tried to wipe the blood away, but the wound refused to stop bleeding. The bigger question that I hadn't asked yet was why she was here and not at the infirmary? I wasn't a medic, so my medical experience was extremely limited. The only thing I could do was try to stop the bleeding.

Latula didn't respond immediately. I could feel her gaze on the top of my head as I bandaged the wound, perhaps trying to decide if the story was worth telling. Or maybe she was wondering if she could still trust me.

"There was," she said slowly, "an incident." Before she had a chance to continue, somebody knocked on the door again. This person knocked with considerably more force, and I hoped they weren't about to knock my door of its hinges. I handed Latula the roll of bandages so I could let whoever it was into the room.

Dirk Strider was not even on the list of people I thought would appear, and it was a pretty short list, but there he was. He strode right past me, grabbing Latula firmly by the shoulders. She flinched away from his grasp, but there was nowhere for her to go. After shutting the door, I inched towards the pair slowly, wary of the older knight. I had only met him a couple of times, and our only full conversation had been about the weather.

"What have you done?" He practically hissed, his knuckles tinted white.

Latula grinned weakly at him, "It was pretty rad, wasn't it?"

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End Note: There's going to be one more chapter on this one, so stay tuned. Thanks for reading, and if you have anything to say, feel free to drop a review.


	2. The Incident

Author Note: Thank you Baxter54132 for reviewing the first chapter.

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I still felt really out of the loop as Dirk released her, staring at the blood now staining his left hand. "No, it wasn't. It was foolish. You could have been killed." He shot one glance at me. "And now you've involved your friend as well."

"Well it's not like I could have left her out of it. You would've barged here straight away and told her anyway." Latula resumed wrapping her arm with one free hand, too stubborn to ask for assistance.

"I think I'm missing something here." I interjected, drawing both of their attention abruptly.

Dirk opened his mouth to say something before he was cut off by a familiar sound. My door was subject to abuse yet again as a repetitive pounding sound echoed through my room. I opened it slowly, wondering who else was left.

Of course, it was Meenah. She looked absolutely exhausted as she cast a weary gaze around my small living space. She was slightly out of breath, her hair sticking out in every direction.

"Aranea." She huffed, and I moved aside to let her into the room. My quarters weren't tiny, but four people was still a large group to have in them. "Thank god." Meenah reached towards me with an almost imperceptible motion; one so subtle I nearly missed it. She hesitated in passing by me, putting off dealing with the other two for a moment longer. I couldn't read her expression at the time.

"Princess." Dirk addressed her, bowing forward.

"Strider." Meenah nodded at him once, and he righted himself. "Did you resolve the issue?"

"I was too late." Dirks expression was serious, and he couldn't meet Meenah's gaze. "There was nothing I could do."

"Very well." Meenah took the few steps over to him, her mouth set in a firm line. "You are dismissed Strider. Go ready my 'orse; we will never meet again."

I stared at her in shock; what on earth was she talking about? Ready her horse? Was she leaving? But Dirk didn't question her orders; he simply nodded and vanished into thin air without a trace. I had no idea how he did that; the door didn't even open to facilitate his exit.

I still didn't say anything as Meenah approached Latula. "I have failed as well." Latula murmured, tying the knot on the bandage and rising to her feet.

"It's ok." Meenah smiled grimly, "At least we put up a fight."

"Excuse me," I was done being silent, and I refused to be cut off again. "What's going on? You can't just show up here unannounced and bleed all over my floor without explaining." My cheeks flushed slightly as I looked back and forth between them. Latula met my gaze evenly, but Meenah couldn't bear it and turned to look out the window.

"Meenah didn't want you involved." Latula rose to her feet, swaying slightly. "She hoped to resolve the issue without drawing any attention."

Meenah still wouldn't look me in the eyes.

"Because you're the best at not drawing attention." I scoffed. "Don't lie to me."

"It's not a lie." Latula tried to stretch her right arm, but cringed when she could barely move it.

"You're not much good with a weapon." Meenah finally added. "And that's what this situation needed." She finally looked at me, and her eyes were clouded with worry. "Feferi's been kidnapped, and we were trying to get 'er back." She let out one short bark of laughter. "It didn't work, clearly, and they're going to kill 'er if I don't do something soon." She sighed deeply, exhaustion adding years to her appearance.

I gasped and barely stayed on my feet, leaning against one of the walls. "But how? Doesn't she have a full guard watching her?"

"They killed 'er whole guard except for the Ampora boy. 'e's barely 'anging on." Meenah paced back and forth through the available space, dropping the tale.

"It was the Felt." Latula picked up the story. "All 15 of them. I challenged them, but you can see how well that went." She fingered the hilt of her sword as if remembering the moment.

I gulped. "What are their demands?" I didn't really want to know.

"That Meenah leave Prospit and never return." Latula rubbed one hand across her eyes. "Or else they'll kill Feferi." She took one shuddering breath.

"Who else knows?" Another question I didn't really want answered.

"Just Dirk Strider. He's been looking into the Felt for a long time now, and he found out that they have a spy in the kingdom. You're not gonna like it." Latula looked right at me, judging my reaction. "Sir Scratch hired them for this job. But he has too much clout with the Queen for us to come out with this right now. She would only banish us."

It wasn't that hard to believe, actually. "But wait," I walked over to Meenah's side. "You're not really considering leaving, are you?"

"That's exactly what I'm considering." When Meenah met my gaze, the defiant glint in her eyes had returned. "But you're not coming."

"What!" I exclaimed, "Of course I'm coming." I wouldn't allow my friends to leave me behind.

"No, you're not." Meenah glared at me. "As long as they don't know that you're involved, then you're safer 'ere." She stood up straighter than she had all evening, not prepared to give a centimeter.

"Please," I crossed my arms, "They know I'm your personal advisor; they'll kill me just to minimize the risks." I raised one eyebrow, daring her to argue.

Meenah sighed, losing a few centimeters as all the air drained out of her. "Fine." The corner of her lips tugged upward slightly. "But you'll 'ave to learn to fight."

My heart lifted. "I can handle that." We clasped hands and shook, determined to survive this.

Latula put one hand on top of ours. "I'm in too. After all, they're probably looking for me right now to finish the job."

"Are you sure you can turn your back on the kingdom you swore fealty to?" Meenah was dead serious.

"I swore fealty to you." Latula mirrored her expression. "Wherever you go, I follow."

"Very well." We all looked down at our entwined fingers as Meenah spoke. "We'll all go. But don't let me 'ear any complaining along the way!"

When Meenah released us, I quickly gathered a few of my things into a bag. The books were replaceable, so I left them. Most of my clothes stayed behind as well.

After a few minutes, the three of us snuck through the castle. We crept down the hallways until we made it outside to the stable. Dirk Strider was already there waiting for us, and he didn't seem surprised to see me with the group. He had even prepared three horses instead of one.

He handed Meenah the reigns of the three horses. "Nobody will miss these three." He bowed, deeper than the time before. "I wish you luck on your journey. May we meet again." Then he glanced over at Latula and I, smirking at us. "Be careful."

I couldn't think of anything to say as he brushed past us into the night. Meenah handed me the reigns of one of the horses, and I held it cautiously. I didn't have a horse of my own, and was generally unfamiliar with the horses in the stables. But I could ride well enough on a tame horse, and hadn't fallen off one as of yet.

Latula's horse was her personal stallion, Horuss. She raised him from a colt and he was extremely loyal. If we left him behind, he would never accept a new rider. Meenah rode her personal horse as well, though I didn't know his name.

All three horses' saddlebags were filled with non-perishable food and a couple blankets, along with enough water to last a few days.

We climbed onto them and set off, walking as to not attract unwanted attention. When we reached the gate, they let us out without question. They didn't have the authority to keep Meenah in the city anyway.

As we rode east, I forced myself to cast aside my regrets. I never said goodbye to Vriska or Terezi; hopefully those kids would be okay without me. I went back to live with family. I never got married. But if doing this would save young Feferi, then it was worth it.

A lone wolf howled as our horses galloped off into the night, my whole world changing in an instant.

After a few hours of riding east, we found the small town of Lofaf. It was governed by a representative from Prospit, but he mostly worked independently from our government. Latula was friends with him before he became their leader, and she was confident he would give us shelter.

This turned out to be true, since when we knocked on his door he welcomed us in easily. He seemed particularly worried about Latula's arm, but she managed to shake him off.

He introduced himself as Kankri, and he told us that as long as we found a way to fit in the town, nobody would ever suspect we were here. We also would need to split up, since if we stayed together would be easier to recognize. He owned a lot of property in and near the town, and had some he could sell us really inexpensively. We bought three pieces of property from him, all in different parts of town.

Latula moved out west of town, living on a farm. Meenah went east, doing the same thing. I ended up owning an inn right in the center of town. It already had eight rooms and a stable behind it, so I didn't have to do many renovations.

Most people who visited the town didn't stay overnight, so I didn't see a lot of business and I had vacancies almost every night. But it was just the right amount of work for me, and it kept me occupied.

I still saw Latula and Meenah occasionally, but we mostly stayed apart. Latula settled down and got married, but Meenah and I never did. I didn't get close to anybody in town, and in return they weren't terribly interested in me.

In my free time, I read through any old legislation the town had. I also wrote a few potential laws, just in case we ever went back. I couldn't let my mind get rusty.

My life passed uneventfully until the day an armored knight strolled into my inn. He looked young; surely less than 20. On his hip he carried a decorated hilt I once saw on the belt of Dirk Strider. His armor wasn't anything extraordinary, except for a set of armored glasses that obscured his eyes from view.

He looked around cautiously, and I took care not to let him see me watching him. It didn't matter, since he ended up approaching my counter anyway.

He introduced himself as Dave Strider, and I recognized the surname. He must have been related to Dirk; the hair color certainly matched.

When he presented me a note from Kankri, I wasn't sure what to think. The note said to put the boy up as long as he needed to be here, and that Kankri would cover the expenses. It also said that he was searching for a witch, and didn't suspect Meenah's presence in the town. Because, honestly, even if he noticed me it wouldn't be a big deal. Meenah was the only member of our group that would cause any stir with her discovery.

I was polite to the boy, though I wanted him to leave desperately. Especially after I told him where Meenah lived. The longer he stayed the larger threat he became.

The same day I told him about Meenah, she visited me at the inn. She agreed with Kankri that he wasn't much of a threat, but didn't think we should let him stay in town for too much longer. She suggested having Latula kill him, but I vetoed that idea. We ended up deciding that we could probably talk him out of his witch hunt if we had to, despite the fact that Kankri had summoned him here in the first place. If not, Latula killing him was always a good plan B.

But after a week he stormed in and grabbed his bags, dripping some blood on my floor before vanishing into the night.

One week after he left, he returned.

**Continued in Subterfuge**

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End Note: If you're interested in reading more of Prospitian Times, make sure to check out the community.


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